Potions and Puzzles

by Agnes Lester Brown

  “I saw Alvin wearing a T-shirt with that on it and thought it must be special for him,” Lori fibbed. It was best to let Alvin rest in peace, she figured.

  “And there’s another thing I don’t understand,” the chief said, scratching his head. “What on earth happened to Sophie? When I got there, she was lying on the ground, stiff as a pole before she recovered. And she had this weird blue stuff smeared on her face.”

  Lori pretended to think deeply about that. “No idea. I passed out after the first blow landed on my head. Maybe it was lightning?” she suggested innocently.

  “I’ll leave that out when I write my report,” Chief Winters said, slightly annoyed at the evasive answers he was getting from Lori. He got up to leave and tipped his hat at her. “Let’s just say I’m relieved the killer didn’t rack up a third murder at Eagle Rock.”

  Lori knocked on the door of Mrs. Barkley’s cottage. Earlier in the morning, she’d seen Daisy strolling in the garden around the cottage, so she knew she was up and about. She’d heard from Fae that Daisy’s sister would be picking her up to take her home, and she wanted to say goodbye. Apart from that, there was the small matter of the one hundred thousand dollars hidden away in the cottage bathroom. Not that it was much of an issue; she knew exactly what she was going to do with it.

  Daisy answered the door quickly, as if she was expecting her lift had arrived. She was wearing the same black embroidered dress she had worn when Lori had first seen her at the inn. She smiled radiantly when she saw Lori.

  “I was just about to walk over to your house to say goodbye to everyone,” Daisy said and invited her in. Lori noticed the room was empty except for two suitcases standing near the door. “Elisa will be here in an hour to pick me up.”

  Lori took both Daisy’s hands in hers. “I’m sure we’ll meet again. In the meantime, God bless, and thank you again for saving me. I owe my life to you.”

  Daisy shook her head. “No, it’s me that will be eternally grateful that you caught Alvin’s killer. Otherwise I’d be carrying this heartache with me until the day I died.”

  “Before we say goodbye, mind if I use your bathroom?” Lori asked.

  Once inside, she had no problem finding the hidden cupboard this time. She extracted the envelope with Alvin’s money and put it in her bag before flushing the toilet and going outside into the garden, where Fae and Hazel were hugging Daisy. They had come to say their goodbyes too.

  Lori excused herself and made her way to the Wholesome. Inside the shop, she glanced at the wall clock, set up two cups on the coffee table and boiled the kettle. She took a small packet of bran cookies from the shelf and spread them onto a plate.

  Just as the kettle started boiling, the door opened and the familiar figure of Nick Dupont walked inside.

  “Just in time,” Lori said, filling the kettle with boiling water. “The usual for your wife, and a cup of chamomile tea for yourself, Nick?”

  “Morning, Lori,” Nick said in a dispirited voice. Yeah, better pour me a cup of that pick-me-up tea, please.” He frowned. “Am I really that predictable?”

  Lori laughed as they sat down. “Help yourself to a cookie, Nick, and tell me how things are going. Did Kermit pay you?”

  Nick shook his head as he took a bite of his bran cookie. “No, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to. He says he’s still waiting for money to come in, but I don’t really believe him. Let’s hope there are lots of winter tourists coming for the snow so I can make up the loss. Otherwise, I’ll have to close up shop.”

  “Well, Fennelmoore can’t let that happen, can it?” Lori put the envelope containing Alvin’s money on it. “This is for you, Nick.”

  Nick looked at the envelope and then carefully peeked inside. Instantly he recoiled, as if he’d seen a snake.

  “What? Am I… Lori, whose money is this? Where’s it from?”

  “Let’s just say it’s a parting gift from Alvin, Nick. The fewer questions you ask about it, the better.” She saw the doubtful look on Nick’s face. “Don’t worry, it’s not stolen money or anything like that. I’m sure if Alvin was still alive, he’d have given it to you personally. Now finish up, I need to get to work.”

  Nick drank down his tea and reluctantly took the envelope. He started speaking, but Lori shushed him with a hand gesture and stood up. “Regards to the wife, Nick,” she said. The quicker she got this errand out of the way, the better for everyone, she thought as she watched him leave the shop.

  When Lori got to the bridge, a large crowd had already gathered around. She spotted several tournament contestants among them. The smell of barbecue hung in the air, and to the side she could see a marching band getting ready. A gaudy red ribbon was tied to each guardrail of the brand-new bridge, and two cute little girls stood at each end, each holding a bundle of red and yellow balloons. The last time Lori had seen the bridge, its steel framework had still been unpainted, but now it sported a gleaming coat of green paint. The freshly varnished wooden floorboards were a far cry from the broken ones of the old bridge. Her feet itched to walk across it.

  As she looked around to see if she could find Mayor Riley, the marching band struck up and started moving forward. Mayor Riley, Meredith, Jasmine and a group of council members followed behind the band and took up their places at the foot of the bridge.

  As the band finished playing, Mayor Riley cleared his throat and tapped the microphone to make sure everyone could hear him. Lori didn’t pay much attention to the mayor delivering his speech. She was thinking back on the tumultuous few days she’d just experienced.

  At last, the mayor finished and Jasmine handed him a pair of scissors.

  “And now, I declare the new Driftwood River Bridge… open!” With that, he cut the ribbon, and the girls who’d been waiting anxiously for him to finish released their balloons. Lori watched them lazily float upwards into the blue sky.

  “Would Lori Whitewood please come forward?” Lori heard the mayor say. He was standing on the first floorboard of the bridge and extending his arm for her to take.

  “Now this is what I call a win-win,” Mayor Riley said to her as they slowly ascended and crossed the bridge. “The World Champion Crossword Tournament was a huge success, and we have a brand-new bridge and a clean forest to show off.” Lori smiled. She looked back up the hillside. Was Alvin sitting there in the shade of Eagle Rock, watching them?

  On the other side of the bridge, Lori saw Daisy coming up behind her, holding Kenelm’s hand. She waited for them to cross, and then hugged Daisy.

  “Alvin would have loved it here in Fennelmoore,” Daisy said. “It’s what he was longing for.” She pointed at the fields around them.

  Lori nodded. “Who knows? Maybe he’s still here,” she said.

  Walking on into the forest, Lori breathed in the fresh pine-scented air and listened to the wind swish quietly through the trees. Brand-new signage had been erected along the path, and all the trash had been removed. At the waterfall, she sat down and waited for Fae, Hazel and Flynn to catch up.

  “I haven’t had the opportunity to congratulate you on your win at the tournament, Flynn,” Lori said as her family arrived. “That was quite a remarkable feat you pulled off back there.”

  “Oh, it was nothing,” Flynn said modestly. “I knew all along I had it in me.” He took Hazel’s hand. “But I couldn’t have done it without Hazel by my side.”

  “And what about me?” Fae said indignantly. “You couldn’t have done it without me either! If it wasn’t for that potion of cl—”

  “Let’s go have something to eat,” Hazel hastily said before Fae could finish. “I’m sure everyone’s starving.”

  Lori, Rosie and Jasmine looked knowingly at each other. “I think I’ll enter the tournament next year. I could use the money,” Rosie said, and they all started laughing.

  THE END

  Also by Agnes Lester Brown

  DEATH AT THE CIRCUS

  Instead of bringing joy and entertainment to Fennelmoore, the a
rrival of the Blackwood Circus casts a dark shadow over the picturesque town that is home to the Whitewood Witches. Not all is well at the circus, and before long a grisly murder places an array of colorful, exotic circus artists under suspicion. Gutsy Lori Whitewood has to navigate a dense web of deception, revenge and score settling to catch the murderer. Will her magic skills be enough to protect her from a remorseless and ruthless killer who'll stop at nothing to protect his identity? Will she be able to set her emotions aside and let justice prevail when confronted with impossible choices?

  Available on Amazon now!

  Join the Agnes Lester Brown mailing list to receive details of this and other exciting releases!

  THE MUSHROOM MYSTERY

  Fennelmoore is in deep trouble. Mayor Riley has hatched a hare-brained scheme to turn the tranquil, picturesque village into an garish theme park, much to the disgust of the Whitewood Witches. Fortunately the Mushroom Convention arrives in town, buying them time to stop their crazy mayor. But then a famous mushroom expert is murdered at the convention, and it's up to feisty Lori Whitewood and her inventive family of witches to use all their magic potion prowess to catch a dangerous, unpredictable killer and save Fennelmoore from imminent destruction. In between Lori has trouble coping with the advances of the handsome but enigmatic Matt. What does he know about the murder that he's not sharing with her? Will she solve the mystery before the killer escapes from Fennelmoore?

  Available on Amazon now!

  Join the Agnes Lester Brown mailing list to receive details of this and other exciting releases!

  THE CAULDRON COLLECTION (BOX SET)

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  Witch extraordinaire Lori Whitewood sits back in her favorite lounge chair and taps her cheek with her forefinger, deep in thought. "If I had to say what were the three highlights of my career as a witch sleuth, I'll have to start with the killer we caught at the Mushroom Convention." She blushes. "That's also were Matt and I met." Then she frowns. "Catching my dear circus owner uncle's murderer was scary. I almost died that time." She sighs with relief. "And thank goodness crossword puzzle champion Alvin Barnsley's death didn't go unsolved. The murderer came very, very close to escaping and going unpunished. Who would have expected..." She puts her hand over her mouth, and when she looks at the reporter interviewing her, she has a mischievous glint in her eye. "Never mind. One day I'll tell my life story in a book, and you'll find out the tricks us Whitewood witches had to use to apprehend the guilty."

  All of Lori’s tales are contained in this entertaining box set of binge-reading-worthy cozy mystery stories: The Mushroom Mysteries, Potions and Puzzles and Death at the Circus.

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  Buy now on Amazon, or read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

  AN OLD WITCHES TALE

  It’s a little-known fact that Granny Fae lived at the Shady Pastures old age home before she got kicked out and had to move in with her daughter, Hazel and three grandchildren at Whitewood Mansion. Fae has always been vague about why exactly she had to leave in such a hurry, but everyone guessed it had something to do with the murder of the Shady Pastures janitor, Joe Humberton, and Fae’s role in cornering the killer. The rest of the family speculated it was all about the clandestine potion factory Fae and her two witch friends, Dinah and Blair were running from the Shady Pastures basement, but Fae has never confessed to that.

  This tell-all book lays the story bare in all its gossip-worthy details. If you thought old age homes were tranquil places of retirement, think again…

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  Buy now from Amazon, or read for free on Kindle Unlimited!

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  JOIN THE AGNES LESTER BROWN MAILING LIST AND RECEIVE AN OLD WITCHES TALE FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME! CLICK HERE NOW!

  UNMASKED - A VENICE MURDER MYSTERY

  Brie Cullen's well-organized life in New York is thrown into disarray when her mother suddenly dies, leaving Brie destitute. With nothing left to lose, she travels to Venice, Italy on a whim, in the vain hope of meeting her long-lost Venetian relatives. It all turns into a nightmare when Brie becomes the victim of mistaken identity, and ends up in the cross-hairs of a shadowy hitman with a predilection for poison darts. Facing certain death and with no one left to turn to, Brie is forced to team up with a flamboyant ghost from Venice's turbulent past in order to get to the bottom of a bewildering web of intrigue. Who is Laura, the girl who tragically drowned in the lagoon? What is Mr. Fantastic's true intentions? And what secrets are hidden away in the dilapidated boat houses in Chioggia?

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  A page turner cozy mystery that'll keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page!

  Available on Amazon now!

  About Agnes Lester Brown

  I wrote my first story when I was six years old. I’ve kept writing ever since, in one form or another. Starting off as a newspaper reporter in the heyday of print media I later jumped ship to a long career in business writing, followed by blogging and writing for websites. For the past few years I’ve been rediscovering the joy and art of storytelling, crafting stories about magic, murder and mystery. Nothing makes me happier than browsing a whimsical second hand bookshop , home made vegetable soup on a cold winter’s evening, or devouring yet another whodunnit while snuggling with my Norwegian Forest cat, Matisse.

  For information on forthcoming titles, specials and blogs about characters from the books and their lives, visit www.agneslesterbrown.com.